


Never Letting You Go Again

by femjester



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Has minimal strong language, M/M, She/They pronouns for pidge, Soft keith, protective keith, slight amnesia, soft Lance, soft klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28808676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femjester/pseuds/femjester
Summary: After being bitten by a mysterious alien bug, Lance falls into a limbo between life and death. Meanwhile, Keith realizes he cares much more deeply for the blue paladin than he had originally thought.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 130





	Never Letting You Go Again

**Author's Note:**

> my first oneshot ever, yay! hope you all enjoy. comments and kudos always appreciated <3

There was a slight ringing in his ear. Not enough for it to be entirely bothersome, but enough to disrupt his peaceful sleeping. He felt the ghost of a touch on his shoulder and an unknown warmth crawl up his back and head, not knowing what to make of it. At first it was a slight tingling sensation, the next it felt like he was being held by something. Maybe someone. His vision wasn’t all too clear; he could make out blotches of colors here and there and maybe a faraway noise. It was muffled. It was far and very insistent. 

“...hear me?” An echo of a voice belonging to someone. The blue paladin felt as though it should’ve been a familiar one. Another warm sensation, this time on his cheek. Someone was touching it, gently patting it to coax a reaction. He felt his mouth open but nothing would come out as much as he tried. His body might have tensed at some point but instantly went lax a second after. For a moment, he felt boneless. He felt limp and weak and so very tranquil asides from the voices that were getting less and less notable as the seconds passed.

A sense of urgency had violently perked him up, the unforgiving blow of something _harsh_ punching him in the chest. A strong sensation forcing him to breathe even when he hadn’t done it voluntarily. He’s acutely aware of how heavy his lungs feel as they inhale for the first time in what’s felt like a while, the sensation somehow feeling foreign as his eyes snap open. The blotches remain and the voices are louder, but somehow the blurred figures focus as time passes until they form into a crowd of worried faces overlooking him. 

Their voices are still muffled and he can’t quite make out what anyone’s saying. He could hear the tones of overlapping voices turn harsh and overlapping; they were arguing, but about what exactly? Despite not being too far from the crowd, Lance felt as though he were watching the scene from far away, almost like a movie. Nothing felt particularly real right now, as though he were floating in limbo or having some sort of out of body experience.

After a few more minutes, the voices that were once muted and far away slowly became clearer, the young man able to make out the final strings of their conversation. “ _Because his eyes are open! He’s looking around, he’s aware!”_

The white-haired woman, one who he feels he should absolutely know the name of, began to bark back at the red paladin who had an angrier expression than usual. It was unlike him to get up and personal in— _he remembers now—_ Allura’s personal space. “And I am telling you he is _not._ Let the healing pod do its job, Keith!” She pulled out a tablet, pointing at what seemed to be his vitals. “This is his brain activity. It’s dropped significantly and has been teetering between fine and _not fine at all_ over the past several vargas. We need to be cautious and _patient_ while we wait for it to go back to normal.” 

The biggest paladin, _Shiro_ , if he recalls correctly, stepped up between them, trying to be the mediator it seemed. Each turned their head to anywhere but each other as he spoke. “We’re all tired and anxious and it’s bringing out the worst in us. Right now isn’t the time for fighting, it’s time for us to stay calm and be there for Lance.” He looked up directly into Lance’s eyes, a worrying expression scrunched on it. 

The older man moved his index finger around, blue eyes trailing it slowly. He seemed to pick up the pace and move a bit faster, his eyes failing him as they began blinking slowly before drifting in and out of consciousness. “At least this time he seems to be a bit more aware…” the comment confusing Lance. 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” he heard the green paladin _— Pudge...Pidge, maybe?—_ added as she looked at scans of her own, seeming to compare them as she switched her gaze between tablets and him. “Every time someone goes into the healing pods they should be asleep and be unable to wake up at all. Allura and Coran were asleep through an _entire war,_ ” the two mentioned Alteans winced a bit at the memory, turning their gaze elsewhere, “How is he managing to do this?”

The group looked confusingly amongst themselves, seeming to think Coran may have had an answer to that. The ginger simply twirled his mustache as he concentrated, most likely deep in thought as he tried to rummage through his memory to see if he could recall any vital information. Eventually, he slumped his shoulders with a sigh. “I can’t say I have an answer, paladins. None of the information we’ve gotten from the scans have given us much to work with besides some odd substance found in the young lad’s bloodstream that we have yet to identify.”

They sighed in unison, each looking defeated as they busied themselves with theories, ideas, _anything_ that could possibly be of use to them. Hunk had suddenly perked up, slapping his fist against the flat of his other palm as he made a revelation. “Wait, before bed Lance had been complaining that he felt something crawling on him when we got back from the mission,” he mentioned, trying to recall any detail he could. “I checked him over and found nothing even though he was insistent on it. There weren’t any bites or anything moving that I could see but he seemed really bothered by it. He took a shower and acted fine afterwards so figured he just felt icky and needed to bathe since he hadn’t brought it up since.”

Eyes widened all around as Pidge quickly pulled up any information they could from the planet they were previously exploring in hopes to find any information on the whereabouts of Galran bases since they had been out of luck of finding any to infiltrate in several movements. Although limited, she seemed rather pleased as she got a handful of data that she deemed useful to use as she compared Lance’s scans to it. 

Pushing up their glasses, they analyzed the information as quickly as they could despite the impatient and worried eyes that were staring at them. “Okay, I can’t know for sure unless I somehow got a sample of the venom but,” she showed the group an image of a strange looking bug; it was probably the size of an ant but the up-scaled image showed great detail of it including the bright red markings on its white back that looked similar to tiger stripes. It’s build could be compared to an oddly-shaped beetle with antennas that resembled a moth. 

“This is what the natives of the planet we just visited call bosomars. They’re a tiny parasitic insect that thrives off electrical signals, mainly neurological ones. According to the little intel I’ve managed to gather, it tends to crawl into the host’s ear and latch itself directly onto the brain itself or dig itself into the host’s spine via the nape of their neck.”

“He was scratching there a lot!” The yellow paladin exclaimed, guilt eating at him for not realizing the severity of his friend’s complaints earlier. 

When they had returned from the mission, he recalls Lance being his usual self, nothing out of the ordinary at all aside from his complaining every now and again. After he had checked him over, Hunk had deemed him safe from any creepy-crawlies he had insisted he had and figured that Lance was just feeling off from not having been able to shower that morning since they had been rushed out into their lions on such short notice. The blue paladin had a tendency to feel itchy or uncomfortable when not at his hygienic best so the bigger man didn’t think much of it.

When it was time for dinner, everyone had been waiting up for him, their patience growing thin as ticks turned into doboshes and doboshes turned into nearly a varga. Having had enough, their esteemed red paladin decided to go drag him out of his room, startling everyone a few minutes later when he had screamed for help. 

When they had gone to his room, Lance seemed unhurt but the older man seemed frantic. He had explained how he thought the latino was simply ignoring him or sleeping in but upon further inspection, realized he was entirely unconscious and not breathing _at all._ His body had been limp and lacked warmth of any kind, the gang gathering up to see and touch him in horror. In their shock, tears had begun to fall until Keith had snapped out of it and demanded they put him into the healing pod _at once._

Shoved inside in rushed desperation, the blue paladin’s lifeless corpse stood still for hours and hours, horrifying his fellow paladins, his team, his friends, his _family._ Coran had, a few times, given everyone a tight and reassuring squeeze to the shoulder in a mourning-type comfort, no one daring to speak their fear _—_ no, even _entertaining_ the idea _—_ that their sharpshooter was dead. All hope was nearly lost as their efforts felt in vain until he had suddenly stirred to life inside, vitals off the charts when they had previously been as lifeless as him. 

While overjoyed that there was some form of response from him, it was concerning that he was able to react like that while inside the pod at all when _not healed._ Every half hour he seemed to gasp for air and seemed awake, yet his brain activity seemed weak or nonexistent, as though he were still entirely unconscious. The news was unnerving to bear and anxiety ran rampant amongst the team as they didn’t know what to do.

Keith had demanded they take him out while awake to examine him physically, Allura being vehemently against it in fear he’d _die_ if they tried. He had growled at the implication, insisting that he was alive and well and would never die on their account which only upset her further. The princess only had his best interest in mind and the two bickered every now and again until someone, usually Shiro, interfered.

They had hoped that when they got any information, _if they ever got any,_ that some wave of relief would fall over them. Yet, here they were and there was no such thing beyond more worry and confused glances at one another. 

Pidge had continued to explain it could have been various different types of bugs that had similar effects on the body but couldn’t be positive unless she had venom samples from each to compare to the strange liquid, which they now could safely deduce was likely the insects’ poison, they had found earlier in his veins. While it was highly likely it was a bosomar, she couldn’t help but worry at the idea of it being a different kind of insect, one that was very similar in nature. 

“Capturing each of them could prove time-consuming and dangerous,” she added as she tried to focus. “There isn’t any information here on what happens if it's left untreated and if whether or not it’s fatal. That being said, we could be on some unknown time limit and Lance’s condition could... _worsen_ if we aren’t careful. To make things even more difficult, these bugs are extremely tiny and would be difficult to find. They’re the size of ants or even a flea and apparently quite choosy of their host.”

“What makes them attracted to a host?” The green paladin looked over to Keith who had been uncharacteristically quiet for the time being given the fact all he did was yell earlier. “According to these records, extremely high brain frequencies. These can be influenced by a lot of different emotions. I suppose strong emotions like anger or excitement could trigger this and maybe are more likely to attract said parasites.”

Allura hummed deep in thought as she nodded in understanding. “Lance is a very emotional person...it would make sense for him to be targeted by one. Is there by any chance these insects have a preference?”

Shiro raised a brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Her gaze fell into a more serious one, contemplating her words deeply as she tried to form coherent thoughts in her anxious state. “Pidge said there are a few insects that share very similar aspects and effects on a host. They each seem to be attracted to strong emotions, but is there a specific kind each seek? A preference of sorts?”

Their eyes widened as they typed away at their tablet, reading frantically. “Yeah, actually! Bosomars tend to have a preference for the brainwaves one has when sad, Vosomars tend to want a host whose emotions are similar to anger or rage and Losomars tend to be most attracted to unbridled happiness.”

“Hunk, how was Lance feeling during the mission?” He had turned towards Allura as he tried to think. “He seemed normal? Like, his old cheery self, but like, a little too much so? Thinking back on it now, I think he was real down about something. Lance isn’t the type to want to be sad all out in the open so hides it by being really out there.” The information made the red paladin ache a bit, trying to ignore it as he listened in. “I kinda forgot about it after since, asides from the complaining, he seemed okay.”

“And you’re confident that he was?” Nodding towards Pidge, they bit their lip as they continue to type away, likely inputting more information into the datasystem. With a sigh, they rubbed their head as they looked towards the team. “Normally, I would never rush in blind with an antidote unless I knew for sure it was going to work in fear it'll do more harm than good. But we need to remember that, as much as we don’t want to admit it...Lance had _died_ on us. That parasite is slowly taking control of his body by the looks of it and if we don’t stop it soon, he might stay dead next time.” 

The silence that filled the room was deafening. It had shocked, horrified and _pained_ everyone to know that Lance had been _dead_ for who knows how long anymore.The healing pod was not known to revive; it had been a last-minute attempt made in desperation that everyone deep down knew was never expected to work. In their eyes, they were simply stuffing a corpse into a machine in hopes it would once again reanimate. No one could do anything about it, but at least _trying_ put their minds at ease, if only barely. 

No one had truly expected it to _work._ Stricken with grief and denial, they had refused to accept the truth of their loss and likely wouldn’t for a very long time. Deep down, everyone knew they’d eventually have to come to terms with it...until Lance _moved. He breathed for the first time in hours._

It had been morbid. Staring into, what felt like, your dear friends’ corpse in his glass tomb. The healing pod had turned into a casket in their eyes, each fighting their tears or excusing themselves to cry someplace else. They had taken turns grieving, paladins returning with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Everyone had left at least once except for Keith, who only stared at the lifeless paladin’s body, never breaking its gaze with an intense expression. He looked anxious. He looked _prepared_ , as though _anticipating_ his revival despite the odds. Anticipating any kind of movement, any indication of life _whatsoever_ even if just a _slive_ r. 

He had denied Shiro several times when he pleaded for him to rest a bit or have something to eat, that he’d take over watch to ensure _someone_ was present in case there was any movement. He didn’t have to say it for Keith to know, but he knew that Shiro had already lost hope after ten minutes of radio silence. He had been in the healing pod before and knew how it was supposed to work. Keith refused to acknowledge this.

After recollecting themselves after an unknown period of grief, Pidge continued her explanation. “That being said...I think the best course of action is to wing this. There is only _one_ antidote I can find on record, its for bosomar poisoning, and we have to pray to fucking _God_ it works because otherwise…” she shut her eyes before any tears could fall. She didn’t have to finish for everyone to understand. Their heavy gazes fell on the blue paladin who had once again, fallen in and out of consciousness. 

They took a moment to debrief on the mission both Allura and Shiro were being sent on. They had unanimously decided it best for as many people to be present with Lance just in case anything went awry. Keith had refused to leave his side regardless and Pidge was needed to collect any more data she could possibly find. Hunk was present to give her any information he knew of Lance and his condition before and after the mission and Coran was on duty to be the Altean translator in case the green paladin had run into anything she couldn’t read. 

Allura and Shiro’s mission was to retrieve a rare flower that was known to reverse the insect’s effects, granted it was the right insect they were thinking of. The duo had rode off on the black lion together staying in contact with the rest of their team via their comms. 

As Pidge typed away at her computer, she continuously bombarded Hunk with questions that he answered the best he could. Anything relating to behavior, odd skin blemishes or things of that nature could be helpful towards her research. While the two had continued on, Keith remained in front of Lance, his eyebrows furrowing in worry.

Gently, he placed his palm against the glass. It made him uneasy to see Lance in this state. Pidge had yet to come up with an explanation for why he was teetering between life and death, consciousness and unconsciousness, _here_ and _not_. He had hoped by now she would’ve found something but tried to keep his impatience under control. Upsetting her further could only result in more fighting and he was too tired to fight anymore. He just wanted Lance to be safe, to be alright, to be alive. 

“ _You’ve got to pull through this, Lance._ ” It came out hoarse and defeated, exhaustion from his sorrow evident. 

Lance had _died_ on them tonight. Keith held his limp, scrawny body in his arms, eyes wide in disbelief and fear. He had slapped him on the cheek several times, some harsher than others in desperation for any kind of reaction. He had pressed his ear to his chest to hear for a heartbeat, for breathing, for any sign of life only for him to be void of any such thing. His caramel skin had dulled in color and he felt cold in his arms. He doesn’t remember when he began shaking, but he must’ve since Lance’s corpse had trembled along with him from how violent the shakes were. He had wet his teammate’s cheeks with his tears, staining him with his sorrow.

“ _Please...come back to us_ ,” he whispered in a soft plea. “ _Come back...to me._ _I need you._ ” 

The hand that had been on the glass had turned into a fist as he tried to regain his composure. He refused to cry again. To cry meant to mourn and to mourn meant to accept a reality in which Lance was dead and never coming back. The strain of forcing himself to cooperate was beginning to give him a headache until he saw a palm against his through the glass.

His eyes had shot up and there was Lance, eyes alive—albeit, weak and half-lidded, but he’d take that over dead ones any day— alert and so overwhelmingly blue with an emotion that felt similar to a mix of fondness, comfort and reassurance. While weak, he could tell he used any ounce of strength he could to press his hand against his, a barrier of thick glass between them. Slowly, his eyes closed again as he once again drifted into the unknown, Keith choking on a few tears as he slid down to his knees. 

Ignoring the questions from his present teammates, he stared at his palms as he balled them up again, this time with determination rather than anger or grief. If even for a moment, Lance was _there_. He was present and wanted him to know he was going to pull through this. That he was strong and there was nothing to worry about because he’s Lance, the lover boy, the sharpshooter, the mold that held the team together. He wouldn’t give up on Lance, never in a million years. He wasn’t about to start now. 

So, he stood tall and wiped away any tears before smiling at him, eyes sparkling with newfound hope. He wasn’t sure what he could offer but he would do all that he could until he pulled through this.

“I think I’ve finally figured out what we’re dealing with,” the short woman announced gaining the attention of everyone in the room. “It definitely has to be a bosomar, no doubt about it, so if Allura and Shiro manage to find the flower, we should be able to concoct an antidote in no time. From what I’ve gathered, the parasite feeds into the host’s energy, essentially, their electrical waves through their bodies, ones that send signals to function. This includes brainwaves and pretty much anything the body needs to do in order to do anything. The venom they inject is meant to subdue its host, its effect varying depending on the species.”

“In Lance’s case, instead of just knocking him out to feast in peace, at some point it...just killed him. However, it seems the parasite cannot feed off a dead host because, obviously, no signs of life means no energy to feed off of, so there is an extremely slim chance it can revive it. All it needs is a sliver of life in order for it to, and I think by putting him in the healing pod, we might’ve given it a chance to. Unfortunately, the information I found on the venom is...less than ideal. It can definitely cause extensive memory loss if left untreated.”

Hunk, Keith and Coran exchanged both surprised and worried looks with one another but continued to listen regardless. “Luckily, it seems the amnesia is temporary and is a side effect from the venom being present. So long as we manage to extract as much as we can, we won’t have to worry.”

“So, exactly what does this antidote do?” Sheepishly, Hunk played with his hands as he awaited a response. “The antidote is meant to kill the parasites present in his body and regain at least seventy percent of his normal body function. It’ll also dilute the venom’s potency, but it can't get rid of it completely. We’ll likely need to extract it via needle and give him a blood transfusion if he loses a lot of blood in the process.”

“What do you mean by only regaining seventy percent of his normal body function?” Keith wasn’t happy with that number and doubted he’d be happy once he heard what exactly that entailed. “Neurologically speaking, I imagine this will be extremely taxing on Lance. He may not function entirely well when he comes back to us. He could become temporarily paralyzed or blind, maybe he can no longer sleep or remember to do certain things. I can’t really say for sure, none of these records are ones that are based on humans.”

Chewing on his inner cheek, the red paladin turned his gaze back on the blue paladin with worry. While he felt reassured that he’d pull through just fine he couldn’t help but to worry about his future. He wanted Lance to be happy and not lose anything during this. He didn’t deserve to lose his sight or legs, even if it was allegedly temporary. It was even more stressful to know they had little to no information on how it may affect humans. 

“The parasite has a bit of control over the host, kinda like a puppet.” A hologram of a human body showed up on her screen, the paladins and Coran following along with her explanation. “It looks like whenever Lance wakes up in the healing pod, which he shouldn’t be able to at all, isn’t something he’s doing but rather his body is being forced to do by the parasite. He may have a bit of consciousness left for him to control himself but very minimally according to my scans.” 

While glad they had more information than before, the team was overwhelmed. They had been sure to let Allura and Shiro in on what they found and their reactions were just about the same as theirs had been. The princess had mentioned how they had gotten lost several times due to the location the flower allegedly bloomed in being thick in forest life and energy, successfully interfering with their gear and scanners. The map with the coordinates they were given often glitched out making this a lot harder than it had to be, the news adding onto the stress of the homebound paladins and Coran. 

The last thing they needed was to waste more time. 

Slumping against her chair, Pidge let out a deep sigh as they removed their glasses to rub at their eyeballs. The temporary darkness comforted her momentarily, allowing her mind to wander if just for a second. It’d been long over a varga and a half since any news from either Shiro or Allura, at least any good ones. It was frustrating being unable to do more than to sit put and gather information which she knew was invaluable in and of itself, but with Lance’s life on the line...she wished she could offer more. 

“I wonder where Lance’s mind is…” Hunk broke the silence, his voice heavy with worry and sorrow. She cracked a small sympathetic smile, a comforting squeeze to his shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

-

His body felt limp and free, drifting freely between realms. Some were more beautiful than others even though none were recognizable. Some worlds only had vast oceans that stretched for light years, others were incomprehensibly bleak yet, somehow, was a charm of its own. Sometimes he trudged through deep waters in search of _something,_ others he flew amongst the clouds and enjoyed the soft tufts against his cheek as they formed into droplets that trickled down his caramel skin. 

He was unsure of how much time had passed, all he knew was that he had never before felt so euphoric. 

His mind traversed galaxies, his eyes lying witness to thousands upon thousands of the rise and falls of empires. He was sure most of them _weren’t_ real, feeling as though all of this was some kind of weird dream, yet knew the joy and grief he felt _was_. 

Seasons passed and flowers bloomed. He watched them wilt away weakly and die only to resurrect once again in time. While everything around him grew and died, he grew painfully aware of how stagnant he was. His being had not once changed or showed proof of any aging. At times, he found himself in a realm that only reflected his being, unable to recognize himself in his reflections. He tried hard to remember his own name several times to no avail, frustrating him greatly. 

What were these lands and people? He briefly wondered if these were flashes of memories or manifestations of fears and worries or a combination of the two. Had these been lands he roamed and people he’s met? Or was his mind peeking into the lives of other realities? Was all of this a dream, maybe?

As he roamed around what he had decided was likely his dreamscape, he grew impatient to find where it was he felt he needed to be. As though he was forgetting something, possibly someone, or some people. Something that was left behind, begging to be found, but never in sight. For the first time in what felt like eons, he felt disrupted. He felt troubled, anxious, worried about _something._ The tranquility he had been blessed with had been shattered, suddenly painfully aware of how empty he felt. 

He felt suffocated, grasping at his throat as he tried to gasp for air. He felt his knees buckle as his chest constricted, lungs drowning him in pain as they struggled to cooperate. A panicked voice echoed throughout his mind, unknowing to who it belonged to. He could hardly focus on it as he trembled in fear. Was he going to die? Was he dying? Had he already been dead?

Shaking his head violently, he looked up with teary eyes. He wanted to live. He wanted to be shown mercy and to be taken away from this awful place. His eyes widened as he realized what he had been looking for, what he had been yearning. 

_“I want to go home.”_

-

Eyelids feeling heavy, Lance could barely gather the strength to open them beyond a slit. He had winced when a light above had been too bright for his liking and all too unfamiliar. Whatever he was on was a bit uncomfortable, feeling nothing of a bed and more like a slab of concrete. In an attempt to get up, the blue paladin tried to force his body to sit up, failing miserably when he only groaned out in pain at only raising his head. Slumping back down in defeat, he pouted miserably as he forced himself to stare at his surroundings.

This was familiar. He was in the medical bay of the castle. Why was he in the medical bay? 

He tried to focus on what he could remember. Most were of the weird dreams he kept having, unsure which were real and which were fantasy. He remembers vague memories of his team members arguing with one another when he was inside _somewhere._ Everything he tried to recall was fuzzy and unclear, frustrating him further. He tried once again to get up, this time being interrupted when the door had flown open. 

Immediately, Keith was at his side, a look of shock and relief sparkling in his eyes. The two remained silent for a while, simply gazing in disbelief in one another’s eyes. Lance’s came more from surprise than anything, surprise to see Keith look _happy_ to see him. “Hey there,” he spoke softly, as though speaking in anything beyond a whisper could break him. Opening his mouth to reply, he realized he didn’t have the strength to say anything, wincing after he had tried.

Keith seemed to understand his dilemma and carefully sat him up, bringing an arm behind his back to guide him upward. His hand had been very warm and welcoming to Lance’s cold skin, frowning as he realized how frigid he felt. His teammate held him close to ensure he wouldn’t slip out of his grip from how frail his state was. His vision had cleared significantly as he blinked a few times, realizing that the older man had held a cup before his lips. 

“Allura says you should try to stay as hydrated as possible,” he began to explain. “You’re hooked up to IV fluids right now to help but it’ll probably help your throat a lot if you drank some water.” Nodding his head in a weak agreement, he had allowed the red paladin to tilt his head a bit back to help him drink the liquid, sighing in relief once he had drunk his fill. “Thanks for that,” he murmured.

The sound of his own voice had surprised him a bit. Part of him had forgotten what it sounded like, the other taken aback from how poor it sounded. Keith smiled fondly at him, an expression he wasn’t used to seeing and it made him avert his gaze shyly, clearing his throat as he ignored the warmth suddenly crawling onto his cheeks. A few moments after, the doors had slid open again, Coran and Allura side by side as they greeted him in excitement.

“Lance!” He was suddenly now being held by Allura, feeling happy in being cradled in her arms. The warmth of her skin was definitely welcomed as it warmed him up significantly, finding it odd that he was still cold. “You had us so worried. How are you feeling? Are you able to speak?”

She had backed away to give him some space and to inspect his face and body. It seemed nothing was out of the ordinary seeing as she was content after a quick scan up and down. “Yeah, I’m feeling better.” He was pleasantly surprised by how much better his voice sounded, content with the slight improvement. It may not have been much but it was definitely a start. “I...don’t know what I’m feeling better _from_ though. What happened?” The three had exchanged looks with one another, seemingly trying to think of a way to explain the subject delicately. 

After a while of being filled in on what had happened, Lance stared blankly at the floor in disbelief. 

Taking in the information that he had been unconscious for two weeks now was a lot. It was even more to take in when he found out he had _died._ He recalled feeling as though he were stuck in limbo for a while, stuck in his own dreamworld in which he could never escape from. All that he saw had been confusing and nonsensical, he guesses though in its own way, had now made sense since he now knew he had been in a coma.

“After we extracted the poison from your bloodstream and injected you with the antidote, we decided to keep you here in the medical bay rather than the healing pod to keep a better eye on you,” she continued to explain with a concerned expression. “The healing pod was never equipped for a situation as unique as this one so felt having you here where we could assist you hands on should you need it was the best course of action.”

He turned his gaze towards Coran who had just finished several tests he had been conducting while Allura had filled him in. “Pidge had mentioned that likely only seventy percent of your body function would be recovered but, thankfully, it seems more than that has. Although, according to my tests here my boy, some parts are still not working well.” He quirked a brow in confusion, Keith and Allura listening intently to him. 

“It’s nothing too serious!” He assured them, beaming with pride. They all exhaled a sigh of relief at that, Lance still not feeling all too convinced. “According to my charts, there are a few minor things you’ll have problems with. For starters, it seems as though you may have a lack of depth perception. It also seems Lance here is unable to regulate his own temperature for the time being. Temporary, I’m sure, but we can’t be too careful. I’ll see if I can find a heated blanket anywhere around, you must be freezing, lad.” 

“That would explain a lot,” he chuckled weakly, lifting up the thin hospital blankets up in emphasis. He wasn’t so cold to the point his teeth were chattering _yet_ but he felt he was rather close. When he was suddenly being enveloped in heat however, his eyes widened in confusion until he realized Keith had wrapped his jacket around him. He looked up into his violet eyes, ones that averted from his gaze as soon as eye contact was made. “It’s not much but I hope it helps.” 

For someone who seemed to have no control over his body temperature, he sure was starting to feel hot. 

“Um...thank you.” Feeling a bit awkward and shy, he decided to set his focus elsewhere. He realized after a few moments of clarity that the rest of their friends were nowhere to be found. Keith seemed to catch onto his confusion, clearing his throat to gain his attention. “Shiro, Pidge and Hunk went to investigate a distress call from a planet we’ve been to before. It didn’t seem like anything serious so we stayed behind just in case you woke up.”

“And we’re glad we did.” Allura greeted him with a soft smile, holding his hand in her own. The warmth of it seemed to spread through his body, his chilliness being washed away as a result. It was a strange sensation but one he could probably get used to. 

Feeling a bit bold, the blue paladin tried his best to get up from his seat with the help of Coran. He had warned him to not push himself unnecessarily but Lance had insisted that he was feeling a lot better. “Since you remember us I don’t think we have much to fear in the amnesia department,” he had noted, checking his pupils with a light as a final check before sending him off with a clean bill of health. 

As he took his first few steps, he nearly trampled over if not for the red paladin’s support. He held onto the slightly shorter man with as much strength as he could muster, feeling a bit embarrassed of his weakness. Keith spared him a sympathetic smile, one loaded with reassurance and kindness. It made his heart swell a bit more than it should’ve but decided to ignore it. 

“I think it’s best for the time being that someone keep an eye on you,” recommended the princess, voice laced with concern. “I don’t want you feeling like you’re being babysat but...I am quite concerned about how you’ll do on your own. Perhaps a few days of being monitored would ease my mind?” Lance wasn’t about to deny their leader such a request, especially not when she looked so worried. 

He only nodded in response, smiling weakly when Allura seemed to brighten up in relief at his compliance. “I don’t mind being the one to watch over him,” the young man had chimed in earning both their attention. It seemed to surprise the princess as well that Keith had volunteered but agreed nonetheless. “Yes, I would appreciate that greatly, Keith. Thank you. Lance, are you okay with this?”

So here’s the thing.

Lance may or may not have had a revelation several months ago that he may or may not have been head over heels in love for his fellow paladin. What once started as a petty rivalry bloomed into something much more than he ever would’ve anticipated and it scared him. Out of said fear, he’s been in the process of squashing down these feelings so they could never resurface again, his tactic being having tried to avoid him since then as much as he could get away with without it seeming suspicious.

For the most part it worked fine. He hadn’t seemed to notice the way the taller man had evaded him or his questions more often than usual and he certainly didn’t seem to notice the way Lance had either been the first or last to leave meetings. Pidge and Hunk certainly had noticed because of _course they did_ , nothing flew under their radar for long, and because of such he eventually admitted to them of his crush and wanting to avoid him as much as possible. 

Thus far he’d been so successful! But now Keith had to follow him _everywhere._

After agreeing to let Keith chaperone him for at least the next few quintants, the younger man felt slight regret in his decision if only because it didn’t seem too great for his heart. He had tried to back out a few times insisting he was fine only to trip or bump into something due to his poor depth perception. To make things worst, the first few vargas after Pidge, Shiro and Hunk had returned from their mission to greet him, he had realized he didn’t remember where the dining hall was when they had insisted on throwing a celebratory dinner for Lance’s awakening, concerning Coran that perhaps he did have a small degree of amnesia after all. That being said, Lance really wasn’t all that fine at all and needed Keith around whether he liked it or not.

It didn’t help that he was being so overwhelmingly sweet to him.

This was a side of Keith he hadn’t seen before or if he has, maybe the amnesia was worse than he had originally thought because surely he would never forget if Keith Kogane used to pull out chairs for him, wrap an arm around him to guide him about and hold his hand to navigate his ways throughout the castle when lost. Granted, these were things he didn’t need from someone before but _still._ These gestures were definitely not helping.

As they ate, they joked around and filled the blue paladin in on all that he’s missed in the past two weeks he’s been out. Surprisingly he hadn’t missed much besides a mission or two which was extremely convenient as they couldn’t form Voltron for a while, at least not until they were sure Lance was fully recovered. Pidge had rambled on about how impressed she was that he had much more body function than she was expecting and that perhaps the insect wasn’t as invasive to the human species as she had originally thought.

Hunk had theorized that it had to do with the human immune system being a bit stronger than the natives on the planet the bug originated from which interested Lance a lot. Up until now, all aliens seemed a lot stronger than humans in every aspect. At times it felt they were even invincible and that _they_ were just the inferior species in the galaxy’s eyes. While grateful he was alive and well now and able to enjoy more time with his friends, it scared him to remember that he had died over something so seemingly small. 

He didn’t like to think about his death often. It wasn’t something he ever thought about on Earth since there was no reason to. Out here though, their lives were in constant peril. He imagined his death would come during a fight they underestimated or a freak accident in one of the lions. Death would have come in the form of being forced into the vacuum of space or running out of oxygen, perhaps. He hadn’t really considered he’d die by being bit by some alien bug that was entirely unrelated to the mission. 

After some time of thinking over these grim thoughts, the Latino eventually excused himself and insisted he could at least go to his room by himself. Luckily, Keith seemed to understand that he wanted some time alone so allowed him to leave without supervision. While he knew it made Allura a bit anxious, she too respected his wishes and bid him a goodnight as he left. 

“If you need anything, let me know. You know where to find me.” Before he had exited, Keith had called out to ensure Lance knew he could come to him should he need someone. It warmed his heart to feel cared for by him and simply nodded in response before taking off. 

After reaching his bedroom and examining it over, he was delighted to find that nothing had changed. Things seemed a bit cleaner he’ll admit so figured Hunk had likely kept things tidy for him so that when he returned things wouldn’t be so stuffy and dusty. He made a mental note to thank him later for that. 

There wasn’t much to it. It hadn’t exactly been the biggest room to begin with but he would’ve been a fool to not have kept a souvenir or two. There were a few stuffed alien animals here and there he had either been given by alien children on their travels as thanks for saving their planet or ones he had picked up from local merchants if they were too cute to pass up. Hanging on his walls were several photos of all of them from various expeditions, some more kind on the eyes than others. He hadn’t been the best photographer in the world and if Keith were in frame at all then it was likely a blurry shot, the red paladin always lunging away last second when he realized he was on camera. It was a bit endearing how camera shy he was but also a pain in the ass when he tried his best to capture as many sentimental shots as he could.

Flopping onto his bed, he exhaled a deep sigh as he allowed his body to relax. Eyes focusing on the ceiling above, he tried his best not to think about the fact he had left this world even just momentarily. It was a hard subject to ignore, one doesn’t usually experience a revival of any kind. While he considers himself lucky to have jumped back at all, it felt unreal that such a thing had transpired to begin with. 

Tears had welled up as he thought back to his friends and family. How crushed they must’ve felt when he had passed and being unable to do anything for him. He was grateful they hadn’t questioned him much or acted differently; he’d much rather not acknowledge the weight of the situation, at least not right now. Right now, he wanted to be in the moment and not think about how things would’ve been different if Pidge hadn’t used her quick thinking to concoct an antidote or if there hadn't been a cure at all to begin with. How differently things would’ve turned out if Keith hadn’t found him in his room, how things would’ve ended differently if they hadn’t bothered keeping him in the healing pod for as long as they did. 

Coran had adjusted the temperature in his bedroom to be much warmer than the others’ to accommodate for his inability to regulate his body heat, and while helpful, it didn’t seem to aid his issue all too much. Ironically, he was a bit grateful for the cold at the moment since it gave him something to focus on other than these grim thoughts that burdened him heavily. Crying wasn’t a bad thing and he had every reason to sob to his heart’s content. Not everyone got to say they were once dead and by some miracle, alive again. 

But his body ached and the shaking of his shoulders as he sniffled away his sorrows didn’t help. He tried wrapping himself in his blanket some more to retain what little body heat he had, cursing at himself for not bugging Coran more for that heated blanket after he insisted he didn’t have to go through the trouble of finding it. 

After a few hours of trying to fall asleep, Lance began to grow frustrated as he couldn’t get comfortable as everything around him was much too _cold._ He had even swapped his regular pajamas for something much warmer, long sleeves and sweatpants they had found during their last shopping trip, but nothing seemed to remedy his dilemma. Sighing, he got himself out of bed carefully, only losing balance a handful of times. 

As the doors of his bedroom slid open, he looked around the dark castle to see it was in night mode. He knew it was late, how late though he wasn’t sure, and debating on bothering Keith if only as means of entertainment. He was bored and wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon and the red paladin _had_ said he could come around if he needed anything, right? 

Finding himself in front of Keith’s door, he knocked gently as he waited for a response. Almost immediately, the doors opened and there he was, as alert and awake as always. He seemed a bit tense and worried, almost like he had been anticipating his arrival for a while now. “Hey,” he started with a small smile. “I, uh...couldn’t sleep. It’s too cold for me. Mind if I bug ya for a while?” The older man just nodded, welcoming him in and adding a “Make yourself at home, I guess.”

Keith’s room had been significantly less lived in than Lance’s. He didn’t seem to hold any mementos of any kind around, no signs of life aside from his unmade bed present. No pictures hung on the walls and his closet was unsurprisingly vacant aside from his usual attire and some casual clothing he’d never seen him in. Probably pajamas, he decided. 

Standing around felt a bit awkward so Lance took the liberty to sit on his bed. Meanwhile, the shorter man shuffled around uncomfortably, seeming to not know where to go from there. He couldn’t help but release a small chuckle, amused by his nervous antics. Patting the seat besides him, Lance insisted Keith sit besides him, the red paladin complying. “So…”

“You don’t have to be so stiff, you know.” 

“Yeah, it’s just...um. Not really one for small talk.

“Keith Kogane? Not one for small talk? I never would’ve imagined.”

The sarcastic remark caused him to frown in annoyance but there was no real malice behind it. He hadn’t realized how much he missed teasing his teammate till now but was enjoying every second of it. Making himself comfortable, he laid his back against the bed and stared towards the ceiling, extending his arm towards it as his hand stretched to the sky. He wiggled his fingers around to ensure his motor functions were fine, something Coran had told him to check on every few hours just in case. It surprised him a bit when Keith had joined him in laying beside him, staring at his hand that was continuing the exercises he had been instructed to do. 

“How do you feel?” The question was inevitable. He knew at some point he would be asked that and likely more once everyone felt an appropriate amount of time had passed. Something about the tone he had given off told the blue paladin he hadn’t meant physically but emotionally. He flexed his hands playfully before settling it back on his side. 

Gaze transfixed towards the sky, he sighed as he thought about how to reply. “It’s a lot,” he confessed, voice small and weary. “There was a lot more for me to stomach than I thought there would be.” Keith hummed in response to indicate he understood and was listening. “Physically, I’m fine. I mean, I’m still sore from all the injections and blood tests and I’m sorta really cold but otherwise-”

“Do you want a blanket?” 

“It doesn’t really help much, honestly.”

“Earlier, when Allura touched you, you looked relieved. Did her holding your hand warm you?”

  
  


Before he could reply, the pale man’s fingers had intertwined with his, albeit hesitantly. His grip was soft and Lance could easily slip away if he wanted to, Keith ensuring his grip was loose enough to allow him that he should choose to. Instead, he shyly returned the gesture and hoped that his cheeks hadn’t reddened at his action. Not trusting his voice at the moment, he nodded slowly in response, already feeling the warmth emanating from their joined hands spread throughout his body.

“Coran had mentioned that skin to skin contact seemed to make my body react positively,” he mentioned, trying to make conversation. “He isn’t sure how long I’ll be like this but Pidge is working on adding a heating system to my paladin armor for when no one can be around to warm me whilst in my lion. I’m sure it’ll work, it’s just that it seems that being in contact with, or even just near another warm body helps tremendously.” 

Keith hummed again in response, suddenly shifting closer to Lance which made his heart soar. He reminded himself his teammate was only doing this to keep him from freezing to death and nothing more. It was harder to convince himself of this when he suddenly felt Keith wrap his arms around him from the side, pulling him into his chest. His eyes widened as he felt himself being held, thin fingers carding through his brown tufts _affectionately._

“Um, Keith?” His voice came out shaky and shy, almost breathless. The red paladin still hadn’t said anything, only tightening his grip on the lankier male as though he were never letting go. He had slowly begun to hug him back, the warmth spreading through his body o _verwhelming him._ Any attempt at killing his romantic feelings for Keith had been thrown out the window for now because _he was cuddling his crush and nothing else seemed to matter right now._

“I _was scared,_ ” he admitted, voice cracking as though he were about to cry. Lance listened with wide eyes, never moving from his spot as he stared at Keith’s arm that moved as it tightened its grip further on him. His ear was against his chest, able to hear the rapid heartbeat of his fellow paladin, unsure if it was from fear or from their close proximity. “I was scared you wouldn’t come back to us. That you wouldn’t come back to me.”

The admission made his heart drop a bit, guilt eating at him for having caused him such grief. Of course it wasn’t his fault that he had died, it was no one’s. But knowing he was the cause of such heartbreak made him want to make up for it somehow. “Hey...I’m a tough guy. It takes a lot more to kill me than just a little bug,” he joked, indulging himself by nuzzling against his neck, eliciting a surprised gasp from him. He was unsure of what to make of the noise but figured if it made him uncomfortable he would’ve been shoved off him by now.

“But...I was scared to. Not knowing if I could make it back.” He gripped onto his black shirt, tugging it a bit as he recalled the strange dreams he had while unconscious. “I think my mind was somewhere else, like some other plane of existence entirely, but it still was conscious enough to know I had somewhere to be. I wanted to live. I wanted to _come home.”_

The two laid there in one another’s arms for several minutes, maybe even up to an hour. Lance wasn’t sure; being in his strong arms made time feel unreal as he could only focus on how nice it felt to be in his embrace after wanting this for so long. Eventually, Keith shifted a bit but only to plant a small kiss on Lance’s forehead. His eyes had snapped open in shock, jaw slack as he dared to look up at him.

His eyes were unmistakably, sickenly, soul-crushingly _fond._ Filled to the brim with unfiltered affection and warmth, one he could never recall ever feeling from anyone before. The small smile that accompanied it didn’t help either; it was one Keith had shown every once in a blue moon when he was incredibly happy or content. His heart began to suddenly hammer in his chest, unable to croak even a slight noise. 

It wasn’t until Keith’s hands had cupped his soft cheeks that he was snapped out of his trance. 

His pale thumbs traced against the apples of his cheeks slowly and mesmerizingly. He traced circles around in slow motions, his eyes flicking between his ocean blue eyes and plump lips. “When you died, I realized there was a lot I had never said to you.” His voice was low and rumbly sending a thrill up the blue paladin’s spine. “I swore that if you somehow made it through that I’d never let this opportunity slip through my fingers because I didn’t want to risk being in a world where I didn’t get to tell you how I felt.”

The drumming of his heart overwhelmed his senses. All he could hear was his own heartbeat and feel Keith’s quicken as well. His heart betrayed him the moment it spilled out all its secrets, unable to contain its adoration for this man any longer. Keith’s lips ghosted just above his own, their breathing in sync as they looked into one another’s eyes half-lidded. Eventually, Lance had been the one to close the gap between the, the kiss small and chaste but _electrifying._

The kiss was slow and full of love and passion, slowly becoming more intense as the seconds passed. How their hearts hadn’t hammered out of their chests by now was a mystery but the blue paladin relished every second of it. He explored the other’s mouth shyly, the need to feel and taste more overwhelming him. Before he could take it too far though, he broke it off to breathe and to look Keith in the eyes.

Both their cheeks were dusted in red, lips swollen from the intense make out. Neither had expected such an innocent kiss to turn into anything more but it seemed their feelings got the best of them. “I really like you, Lance. To be honest, I think I love you.” Shy Keith was something to behold and was something Lance knew he wanted to see more often. Breaking into a giant grin, the blue paladin swooped in for another kiss before whispering into his ear, “I love you too.”

The two had decided to sleep together that night, the warmth of one another keeping them content as they drifted into a deep slumber under the covers. Lance would occasionally giggle when Keith made a noise of embarrassment when he got pecked on the cheek unexpectedly by the Latino, entertaining him to no end. The two held hands and kissed one another's palm, relishing in each other’s touch. Keith held him tighter than he ever had before, wanting to memorize the feeling of Lance’s warm body in his arms to replace the lifeless cold one that had imprinted into his mind. 

The last few weeks had been hard. The team had hardly kept it together in Lance’s absence, the red paladin especially. There had been so much worry and anxiety sifting through the air between all of them, uncertainty looming above in regards to Lance’s future. 

But tonight, these worries would be set to rest, for whatever they had to deal with in the foreseeable future they would at least go through together as a team. As friends. As lovers. 

Keith made sure he would never let him go, not ever again. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
